26 Treasures – the book

Museums often talk of wanting their objects to speak to visitors. Well, 26 waved its magic wand and the 26 Treasures Anthology was launched at the V&A on 18 September.

It features the work of over one hundred writers: many of them household names; many of them 26 members and occasionally one and the same. Each writer is paired with an object of art from a participating museum: The V&A, The National Library of Wales, The Ulster Museum and The National Museum of Scotland. Artistic blind dates do not always lead to love at first sight: just ask John Simmons, paired with a somewhat rococo candlestick. Each writer penned a sestude (62 words) about their soulmate.

The book is a work of passion, beautifully designed by Sam Gray. It is no ‘50 Shades of Grey’ though: 104 full colour illustrations produced by Unbound, the book crowd-sourcing specialist and distributed by Faber.

Martin Clarkson, 26 Chair, welcomed the book as a child of the 26 ethos. “Like-minded people coming together and making exciting things happen.”

Available now at the V&A and all good bookshops, attractively priced at £14.99 and perfect for that Christmas stocking filler.